Propulsion of boats



(No Model.) j

W. FORWARD. l PROPULSION 0F BOATS. No. 554,589.' l Patented Feb.` 1l, 1896.

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UNTTRD STATES PATENT Ormea,

WALTER FORWARD, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

PROPULSION OF BOATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 554,589, dated February 11, 1896.

Application filed June 14, 1895. Serial No. 552,838. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER FORWARD, of San Diego, in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Propulsion of Vessels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in the propulsion of vessels, and especially to means for propelling small boatsfor example, the hunting-boats usually known as sneak-boats;77 and the object of this invention is to provide a propelling mechanism which will be exceedingly simple, durable and economic, and in the operation of which the oprator may be seated facing the bow, the hands being free for the handling of a gun or for other purposes.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the propelling mechanism that, whether the boat is to be driven ahead or backed, the driving-shaft will be revolved at all times in t-he same direction.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, formin ga part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both gures.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a portion of the boat having the improved propelling mechanism applied thereto, the section being taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of that portion of the boat or vessel shown in Fig. 1.

In carrying out the invention a propellershaft is mounted in suitable bearings in the stern of the boat and is provided with a propeller 11 of any approved construction, the said propeller-shaft being likewise iitted with a pulley 12, having a wide face. Above the propeller-shaft the driving-shaft 13 is journaled in properly-located bearings, and on this driving-shaft a fly-wheel 14 is iirmly secured, the hub of which has attached to it an auxiliary wheel 15, which may be a sprocketwheel, but is usually provided with a peripheral groove and with pins 1G in its grooved portion.

At the rear of the balance-wheel 14 three pulleys 17, 13 and 19 are placed in position on the said driving-shaft, being in close relation to each other, the outerpulleys, 17 and 19, being firmly attached to the shaft, revolving there with,while the intermediate pulley,18, is an idler; and two belts, a straight belt 2O and a crossed belt 21, are carried in contact with the pulley 12 on the propeller-shaft and over two of the group of pulleys on the drivingshaft, one of the belts being on one or the other of the fast pulleys while the second belt will be on the loose pulley, and these belts are shifted through the medium of a shifting-rod 22 provided with a shifting-head 23, receiving the two belts and mounted upon the rock-lever 24 at or near the inner end of the propeller-shaft.

The shifting-rod 22 is carried forward and connected with a shifting-lever 25 in anysuitable manner. Convenient to this shiftinglever a racked or toothed support 27 is erected in the bottom of the boat, the teeth 23 whereof incline in a forwardly direction, and this support receives a seat 29 for the accommodation of the hunter or operator, the seat being correspon dingly toothed to the support, whereby the said seat may be adj usted forward or rearward, being stationary after having been placed in position.

In front of the seat-support 27 two parallel slideways 30 and 31 are erected in the bottom of the boat, and in each of these slideways a block 32 is held to slide, each block being provided with a foot-rest 33. Each block has pivotally connected with it a pitman, respectively designated as 32 and 32h, and in the working position of these blocks one will be in advance of the other. These pitmen 32TL and 3.2b are respectively connected to crankarms 34 and 34", secured upon a shaft 34, journaled in suitable bearings 35 at or near the forward portion of the boat, and on this shaft a driving-wheel 36 is iirmly secured,hav ing its periphery grooved, asI shown in Fig. 2, and provided with pins 37, whereby this wheel corresponds to that attached to the balancewheel 14 on the driving-shaft.

An apertured belt 38 is passed around theA pin-surface of the driving-wheel 36 and under a single or a double pulley 39, journaled in suitable bearings 40, located at the rear of the seat-support 27, and from this pulley 39 the ICO tary motion will be communicated to the driving-shaft 13, and from thence through either the straight belt 20 or the crossed belt 21 to the propeller-shaft, one oi' the belts driving` the shaft in a manner to propel the boat for-` ward and the other in a direction to back the boat, it being understood that one of the belts at all times is on the idler 1S on the drivingshaft. Thus it will be observed that the driving-shaft is revolved in the same direction whether the boat is going ahead or is backing, and that a reverse movement may be eileeted whenever desired by simply moving the shifting-lever 25. There are no ratchets or other mechanism to make a noise. Consequently this propelling mechanism is especially adapted for hunting-boats or for small crafts designed to approach a given point without signaling or giving notice of such intention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. In i the propulsion of vessels, a powershaft, foot-rests capable of sliding movement in reverse directions, a driving connection, substantially as described, between the footrests and the power-shaft, a propeller-shaft, a drive-shaft located adjacent thereto, a belt connection between the power-shaft and the drive-shaft, fixed and loose pulleys located on the drive-shaft, a crossed and a straight belt connecting respectively one of the fast and one of the loose pulleys with the propellershaft, and a shifting mechanism connected with the said belts, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In the propulsion of vessels, the combination, with slideways, foot-rests having movement in said slideways and adapted to travel in reverse directions, a power-shaft, and a pitman-and-crank connection between each oi' the foot-rests and said power-shaft, the cranks being reversely placed, of a second powershalt mounted longitudinally in the stern, a propeller-shaft therebelow and parallel therewith, a belt connection between the second power-shaft and the drive-shaft, a balancewheel secured on the drive-shaft, driving-pulleys fixed on the drive-shaft, and an idler also on the second drive-shaft between the said fixed pulleys, a straight belt and a crossed 

